Andante Travels

Introduction

The ancient province of Hispania Tarraconensis, with its capital at Tarragona, roughly corresponds with the area of present day Catalonia. This is at the heart of Rome’s story in Spain. It was here at Emporium that the Romans first landed in the peninsula and it was the colonia of Tarragona which was the last town to fall to the Visigoths at the end of Empire, leaving a rich history and a legacy of magnificent buildings as befits a provincial capital.

Spain was no wasteland before the Romans. Prehistoric cave paintings which depict human groups rather than individual animals show the emergence of complex society early in the region’s history. An advanced, vibrant Iberian culture later evolved here – an urban civilisation which combined skills in stone-masonry that raised massive town walls with delicate, fine craftsmanship in metal and pottery.

Catalonia was one of the first areas of Spain to free itself from the Moors and because of this evolved a very distinct regional culture expressed through the magnificence of its Gothic buildings. Medieval Barcelona was at the  heart of a Mediterranean Empire which stretched to Italy and Greece.

This is a lovely area of Spain, the coastline - at least the parts we encounter - is unspoilt, and the hinterland agriculturally rich, ribbed with vineyards and dotted with the typical old farmhouses of honey-coloured sandstone. Our first hotel is on the edge of a pretty medieval town centre and the second leads directly to the sea on its own wild bay.

Itinerary

Day One
Fly to Barcelona and drive down the coast to visit the partially reconstructed Iberian village of Calafell* where we hope to be shown round by the site’s excavator David Asensio i Vilaró (*not yet finally confirmed as we write).

Day Two
A full day on foot exploring the Roman remains in the World Heritage site of Tarragona, a city with a very pretty and interesting old town-centre. In 217BC a relief army commanded by Publius Cornelius Scipio occupied Tarraco, at the time when Rome brought the battle against Carthage to Spain.

“this was the situation in Hispania when Publius Scipio arrived at the province with thirty large vessels and a great stock of provisions...This formidable fleet with its procession of cargo vessels was seen from afar, and entered the harbour of Tarraco to the great rejoicing of allies and Romans”.

Later, when Augustus divided the Iberian peninsula into three provinces, Tarraco was made the capital of the largest of these. Much of the centre of Roman Tarraco, which lies beneath the subsequent Medieval city, has been excavated and is very well displayed.

Day Three
Centcelles: a most remarkable monument, a domed building which is part of a villa complex with outstanding narrative mosaics in the cupola. This may be the final resting place of Constans, son of the Emperor Constantine who was killed whilst fleeing from Gaul to Spain.
Ulldecona: The discovery of prehistoric rock art on the walls of a limestone valley has recently been awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO. There is a splendid new interpretation centre here. The paintings are reached along stony tracks on the steep hillside. When we last visited, this was still accessed by ladder – very precarious – but visitor access was set to be in place by the time of our visit.
Continue to Tivissa*, one of the most important Iberian sites known in Spain, where a major hoard of Iberian silverware was found (Barcelona Museum). *David Asensio i Vilaró is the excavator and will, we hope, once again accompany us to elucidate his work on this well-defended plateau.

Day Four
After a decade of careful excavations, the Early Christian necropolis of Tarragona has yielded nearly 2,000 burials dating from the 3rd century onwards. It is supposed that this was the final resting place of Bishop Fructuosus and his deacons who were burned alive as martyrs in the amphitheatre here in AD259. On to the aqueduct at Ferreres which supplied the city with millions of gallons of fresh water a day from a river 300 feet above sea level, and the Roman stone quarry at Medol. Afternoon visit to the villa at Altafulla, home no doubt to one of the luminaries of Tarragonan society. An inscription leads us to consider that this may be the residence of the provincial governor.

Day Five
Drive past the Arco de Bera to Olerdola, an Iberian hill-top town, later occupied during both the Roman and Medieval periods. Explore Barcelona, capital of Catalunya and formerly the Colonia Faventia Iulia Augusta Pia Patricia Barcinonensis. The Roman city occupied roughly the area now covered by the Gothic quarter. Visit the Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat (underground excavations) and the Archaeological Museum. Drive north to to our lovely hotel on a private cove at Begur.

Day Six
Girona: town walls, Arabic baths, splendid cathedral and the Jewish Museum, located in the middle of the town’s old medieval Jewish quarter. Return to hotel via the picturesque village of Peratallada; free time this afternoon to enjoy our lovely hotel on the waterside.

Day Seven
Iron Age settlement of Ullastret, a town developed by the local Iberian tribe of the Indicetes. Emporion’s origins are unusual in that it was a colony of a colony, founded by the Greeks of Marseilles, themselves settlers from Phocaea in Turkey. The initial settlement on a small island, probably in the territory of the Indicetes, was based on trade (its name, means ‘market’ in Greek). There were two quarters, the palaeopolis and neapolis. When Rome annexed Spain, a further Roman quarter was built, and the town was referred to as Emporiae, in the plural.

Day Eight
Leave for airport and flight home.

Included

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• Flights Scheduled flights from London to Barcelona
• Transfers private coach provided to coincide with group flights
• Local Travel Private a/c coach.
• Meals All meals included (dinners with wine & water) except lunch on Day 2, 6 & 8
• Guide Lecturer (also local guides where these are compulsory)  Not to be confused with "guest lecturers"!  The guide lecturer will be with you from breakfast to supper, and probably even a drink in the bar afterwards.  There is the occasional site where they may not be allowed to guide because of local regulations (we normally manage to circumnavigate these) but otherwise the guides are just that. They will have been chosen because of specialist knowledge and their ability to communicate and interest you.  After 22 years of making tours worldwide, we are highly appreciative of the attributes of a good guide, and intensely critical of people who do not possess them.  If you would like to know more about Dr Andrew Fear, please click his name.
• Tour Manager We never know how best to call the very special people whom we choose to accompany you on your tour.  They are usually employed in this capacity only by us, and have been trained to do things in the Andante way - unobtrusive, friendly and quietly efficient.
• Fieldnotes written for the tour
• Entry & tips Entry to all sites in programme; tips included.

Flights & Visa

Please note these flights are an indication of what the flights are likely to be. Please contact the office for exact details.

Scheduled flights with BA
BA484                   London Heathrow / Barcelona              09:20 / 12:25
BA485                   Barcelona / London Heathrow              13:25 / 14:40

Visa and Passport Requirements (for British passport holders only)*

Passports must be valid for the duration of your stay.

Hotels

4 nights in a hotel just behind the seafront in Tarragona - many rooms with sea views
3 nights in a lovely little hotel on the sea front in a little cove at Begur

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